Key Terms

Learning the language of literary criticism has been a focal point of our year so far. The vocabulary we have been absorbing is essential in labeling all the literary devices author's use to create meaning and effects in their writing. Without these terms we wouldn't be able to discern our run of the mill repetition from our anadiplosis or anaphora. Iced coffee at burger king is a dollar. Non-sequiturs would go tragically unlabeled as well, and they would be just as confusing and unexpected. Some of these terms are just head and shoulders above the others though. They have a way of sticking with you. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Paraprosdokian: A surprise ending. Think the end of "The Planet of the Apes". SPOILER ALERT: The planet is earth.

Epizeuxis: I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely love this word. Its repetition of a word for emphasis.

Cacophany: Its the use of harsh, caustic, cantankerous, creaky words.

Didactic: Its what every authority figure does always. No exceptions.

Synesthesia: This term means one sense in terms of another. I wonder how the color red smells.

Fun Fact: Only one of these four words passed spell check.

Response to Course Material #5

Ceremony.... I like it. I just feel a little over my head right now. I'm having a hard time distinguishing all her layers of meaning. Its also difficult to depart from the western literature view point that has been sort of ingrained in my head since the day I first stepped into a "Language Arts" class. But the emphasis on colors and the new meanings, or at least meanings that I was never aware of, make the arduous process of dissecting this book well worth it. I think its somewhat ironic that we are reading this book in the midst of this silly controversy at our school. Those articles we read really did nothing but confuse me, and its sort of hard to absorb thousands of years of culture that is required for a complete understanding and appreciation of this novel. Silko in those interviews annoyed me. I think she takes herself a little bit to seriously, but who can blame her when she has those other two women laughing at absolutely everything she says. Although thirty minutes of Youtube videos are hardly sufficient to judge a person's personality, its quite (un)safe to say the woman  has quite the ego, but her literary genius is undeniable.

Close Reading #5

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/opinion/sunday/americans-and-god.html?src=me&ref=general

     Eric Weiner (lolz)  utilizes syntax well in this article. He is constantly using commas to break down his sentences into easily digestible bits, especially in sentences that are critical to the meaning he is attempting to convey. For much the same reason as the commas, Weiner frequently utilizes very short sentences such as " He laughs, often and well." and "And for all of us." These short sentences come, by in large, at the end of paragraphs and thoughts in order to provide extra emphasis.
    Detail is used in this piece very well. The author mentions Steve Jobs, who is a mythic figure in America right now, as a way to describe what is needed in the religious world. This is an excellent detail, and it strengthens his piece because it strikes a chord with exactly the type of people his trying to reach out too. He is trying to appeal to the "Nones" who tend to be younger Americans, who are increasingly disillusioned with contemporary religious attitudes and politics. Another reason this was such a strong detail was that Jobs is known for being a pioneer of devices like the Ipod and other items near and dear to the hearts of the youngest generations. Weiner then balances his argument by mentioning the Dalia Lama, someone whose significance is well established among America's grey beards. The author's use of detail effectively endears him to all types of readers, especially his target audience, and strengthens his meaning.
     Weiner's diction matches the personality type of the people he seeks to describe and empower in his article. He uses words like "drifted" and "crisis" to describe the sort of disconnect a growing number of Americans feel for religious attitudes and institutions. He then makes excellent choices when he chooses words to describe a grudge some have religion, feeling that the focus is on "judging" and "smiting" from an "angry" God. But then he uses words like "celebrate" and "encourages", providing a youthful optimism. His diction excellently frames the opinion of the "Nones" and helps reinforce the intended message of his piece.
 

Open Prompt #6

2003. According to critic Northrop Frye, "Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divisive lightning." Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

Close Reading #4

"Journey into Night" http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/12/17/071217fa_fact_sedaris?currentPage=all    


The beauty of "Journey Into Night" by David Sedaris is how he takes his plane trip and turns into a larger than life occurrence. Diction plays a large part in achieving his goals. On an overnight flight from JFK international airport to de Gualle in France, an experience many people have not had, Sedaris has the misfortune of sitting next to a sobbing polish man, who is grieving over the loss of his mother. However, the author creates a mystique around this man through his use of larger than life words, describing his hands as "king-size mitts" and his nose as "large and many faceted". This creates the idea that this man is almost a caricature in a fantasy of Sedaris' and adds to the depth of emotion that we perceive the polish man as experiencing. 
    Imagery is well utilized in this piece. The airplane is described as a hospital ward with passengers "slow footed padding" as they walk down " the dark aisles". The front of the plane bears even more resemblance to a hospital ward because there the "seats recline almost flat, like beds" and "the doted-on passengers lie under blankets and moan." This imagery is powerful because it creates a very dark mood, that is actually rather funny.  This sort of juxtaposition of the dark and the funny comes in later in the piece. Sedaris tries, in vain, to hide his amusement at the hilarity of Chris Rock in the in flight movie from his polish passed friend in an attempt not to offend him. Sedaris uses this to point out their is often more depth and complexity of emotion in situations, and sometimes we are ashamed to acknowledge that.
    Sedaris then recounts the first time someone who knew died. It was an acquaintance from junior high, who passed away from leukemia. Those who are really close to the person may experience genuine sadness but Sedaris had just been touched by it, so he "had been made special by it. By all appearances, I was devastated, but in fact I had never been so happy in my life." The author then talks about the first time someone genuinely close to him passes away and states that "My grief was genuine, yet still, no matter how hard I fought, there was an element of showmanship to it". His use of detail frames his argument very well. This author has the courage point out elements of human nature that we are somewhat ashamed of. Even our most genuine and selfless emotions are clouded with selfish or impure feelings. Without these details his argument would have been lacking and his point not well made.

Response to Course Material #4

   Recently we have done Prezi presentations of literary eras. My group's presentation was over Naturalism, Realism, and the Victorian era. It was nice to see the transition between the eras laid out, as well as gaining a more in depth understanding of each individual era. The most interesting part of it for me was seeing the way science and current events had a profound effect on the literature produced during these eras. I think its safe to say Darwin's The Origin of Species is one of the most influential pieces of literature ever written, and not just for its scientific impact. It was highly influential in both the naturalism and realism movements, and spurred the political movement known as Social Darwinism.
    Our most recent in-class essay was great practice. I'm more worried about closed prompts at this point because I'm confident that because we are spending so much time on works like Death of a Salesman  and Ceremony that the real challenge will lie in the closed prompt. I'm good at deriving meaning from the poems that are given to us. However I struggle when it comes time to show how they used literary techniques to enforce their meaning. I also miss most of the subtle points the author tries to make, most of my interpretations are begat through brute force.
    Ceremony has been a great book thus far. I have really enjoyed the imagery the author employs. I can already its chockful of motifs and themes. Can't wait to break it down during class!

Open Prompt #5

1981. The meaning of some literary works is often enhanced by sustained allusion to myths, the Bible, or other works of literature. Select a literary work that makes use of such a sustained reference. Then write a well-organized essay in which you explain the allusion that predominates in the work and analyze how it enhances the work's meaning.

     The nature of humanity is intimately explored in the bible. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies his character Simon is an sustained reference to Jesus Christ. His actions, especially in comparison to the other children, make his presence obvious and figures greatly into Golding's message.

     Simon is by far the most benevolent of the boys stranded upon Golding's unnamed island. He is often helping the "littluns" by finding for them "fruit they could not reach, pulled off from the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands". This is strikingly similar to Jesus when he multiplies fish and loaves of bread for his multitudes of hungry followers. While Simon is acting with the concerns of the meek in mind, Golding's other characters are focused purely on themselves. They disregard the greater good and focus on pleasure, neglecting to do things that would improve their situation. Characters like Jack, the leader of the most primordial of the boys, highlight Simon's pure heart with their reckless and juvenile behavior that endangers others and focuses on unholy activities, like the slaughter of the island's native pigs(an animal considered filthy in the old testament) or the actions that lead Simon's death. Simon also enjoys wandering into the wilderness, a trait he shares with Jesus. On one of his solo forays into the depths the island, he encounters the Lord of The Flies, or the pig head that has been stabbed and displayed by Simon's peers. He has a delusional conversation with this head, whose English name translates to Beezlebub, which often means Satan. The LOTF taunts him, but is unable to steer him from his path. At one point, he also bashes his head against his tree, causing it to bleed, which could be a reference to the crown of thorns.

     Simon's death in the story has the most significance. He is accidentally killed by the boys while they performed their tribal dance, believed to be the very beast that he came to explain. While wandering the island alone, he happened on the body of a dead airmen, parachute and all. This is immediately explained the physical side of the "beast" that inhabited the island, however, Simon never got the opportunity to explain the truth. However, the real beast, the dark side of human nature, was also conquered by Simon and the example he set. His actions serves as a blueprint for the boys, adult world(that the island represents a microcosm of), to rescue themselves from this much more dangerous beast that is human nature.However, the most important element that Simon, being a Christ figure, incorporates is hope. With his death, there is hope that individuals will recognize his message and seek to reform society in a more positive way.

     Simon in the LOTF served as a Christ figure, who's action were exceptionally benevolent and closely mirrored that of Christ. Golding utilized him too explore the darker side of human nature, but right along with his death comes the hope that society will see its faults and search for a way to better itself.